June 14, 2000 Volume 6 -- Number 091 What follows is the case style or name, first paragraph, author's name, and the names of attorneys for the parties of each opinion released eletronically today to TBALink. This Issue (IN THIS ORDER):   00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court 00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court Workers' Compensation Panel 00 New Document(s) or Proposed Rule(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court 00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Appeals 04 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals 00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Attorney General (PDF format) 00 New Judicial Ethics Opinion(s) 00 New Formal Ethics Opinion(s) from the Board of Professional Responsibility   There are three ways for TBALink members to get the full-text versions of these opinions from the Web: Do a key word search in the Search Link area of TBALink. This option will allow you to view and save a plain-text version of the opinion. Browse the Opinion List area of TBALink. This option will allow you to download the original version of the opinion. Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This option will allow you to download the original document. Lucian T. Pera Editor-in-Chief, TBALink GARY CARR v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Eugene A. Laurenzi and Bobby F. Martin, Memphis, Tennessee, for appellant Gary Carr. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Tara B. Hinkle, Assistant Attorney General, William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General, and John Campbell, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WOODALL First Paragraph: Petitioner appeals as of right from the dismissal of his post-conviction petition. On appeal Petitioner challenges only the post-conviction court's determination that his trial counsel was effective when Petitioner entered into a guilty plea. After a de novo review, we conclude that petitioner has not established either prong of the Strickland test, and we affirm the trial court's dismissal of the petition. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/CARRG.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WILLIE DOCKINS Court:TCCA Attorneys: Arch B. Boyd, III, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Willie Dockins. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Kim R. Helper, Assistant Attorney General, William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General, Janet Shipman, Assistant District Attorney General, and Paul Goodman, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WOODALL First Paragraph: Defendant Willie Dockins was convicted of first degree murder by a jury in the Shelby County Criminal Court. Defendant was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Defendant challenges his conviction, raising the following issues: (1) whether the trial court properly determined that he was competent to stand trial; (2) whether the trial court should have declared that he was insane at the time the offense was committed; (3) whether the trial court erred when it admitted a gun into evidence after a security latch had been removed; and (4) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction. After a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/DOCKINSW.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JIMMIE C. SPRATT Court:TCCA Attorneys: A.C. Wharton, Jr. and M. Dell Stiner, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jimmie C. Spratt. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, R. Stephen Jobe, Assistant Attorney General, William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General, James Challen, Assistant District Attorney General, and Rosemary Andrews, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WOODALL First Paragraph: Defendant Jimmie C. Spratt was convicted of aggravated rape by a jury in the Shelby County Criminal Court. Defendant was subsequently sentenced to a term of twenty-five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Defendant challenges his conviction and his sentence, raising the following issues: (1) whether the trial court erred when it ruled that he improperly struck potential jurors based on the jurors' race; (2) whether the trial court should have dismissed the charges against him because there was an unnecessarily long delay between his arrest and his appearance before a magistrate; (3) whether the trial court erred when it refused to suppress a pretrial statement that he gave to police; (4) whether the trial court erred when it refused to suppress evidence that he had been identified by the victim during a physical lineup; (5) whether the trial court erred when it admitted an out of court statement by the victim into evidence; (6) whether the trial court erred when it admitted evidence about the results of a DNA probability test; (7) whether the trial court erred when it allowed the State to call a rebuttal witness; (8) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction; (9) whether the trial court erred when it failed to instruct the jury on the potential range of punishment; and (10) whether the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. After a review of the record, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and we remand this matter for a new trial. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/SPRATTJC.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JAMES NATHAN WILKERSON Court:TCCA Attorneys: Richard W. DeBerry, Assistant District Public Defender, Camden, Tennessee, for the appellant, James Nathan Wilkerson. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Clinton J. Morgan, Assistant Attorney General, G. Robert Radford, District Attorney General, and John W. Overton, Jr., Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: GLENN First Paragraph: The defendant pled guilty in Hardin County Circuit Court to a three count indictment for theft of property, possession of a prohibited weapon, and possession of a controlled substance. The defendant received an effective sentence of four years in the Tennessee Department of Corrections. After seven months in Wayne County Boot Camp, he was placed on probation. A probation violation warrant was issued charging that the defendant had failed to make payments; failed to appear in court; left the state without permission; and been arrested on a new charge. Following a hearing, the probation was revoked, and the defendant timely appealed. Based upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/WILKERson.wpd PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL! Feel free to forward this Opinion Flash on to anyone you know of with an e-mail address. GET A FULL-TEXT COPY OF AN OPINION! See the intrsuctions at the beginning of this edition of Opinion Flash. JOIN TBALink! While Opinion Flash is a free service of the Tennessee Bar Association, you must be a subscriber to TBALink, the premier Web site for Tennessee attorneys, in order to access the full-text of the opinions or enjoy many other features of TBALink. TBA members may join TBALink for just $50 per year. 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